Massage roller



P. AVERY MASSAGE ROLLER Sept. 3, 1940.

Filed Dec. 6, 1939 INVENTOR lll Patented Sept. 3, 1940 srs 4 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanical devices for massaging the human body.

It is an object of the invention to provide a roller which, when passed over portions of the body, will effect a kneading action on the flesh which is comparable to the action effected by hand massage.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a power driven massage roller which, in eliminat- Ving the effort necessary to move the roller over surfaces of the body, retards fatigue in the operator and enables him to produce more correct variations in pressure of the roller on the body.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a roller of the type described pro-vided with removable rubber vacuum cups, improved and simple means for detachably mounting the vacuum cups on the roller.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage which, together with the foregoing, will be specifically set forth in the detailed description of the invention hereunto annexed. It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific form thereof herein shown and described, as various other embodiments thereof may be employed within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of the massage roller of my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the roller. 'Ihe plane in which the view is taken is indicated by the line 2 2 of Figure l.

In detail, the device comprises a small electric motor 3 at one end of which is mounted, by screws ll, a reduction gear housing 6 containing suitable reduction gearing, preferably a compound worm set, having a projecting drive shaft 'I which is parallel to and radially offset from the axial center of the motor 3. Secured to the opposite end of the motor 3, and extending axially thereof, is a plurality of mounting posts 8 which are attached, by screws B, to a flange l I having an integral hub I2 which` is axially concentric with the motor and is provided with a central threaded bore in which the threaded end I3 of an extended handle tube I4 is secured. The reduction gear housing 6, at a point concentric with the axis of the motor 3, is provided with a cylindrical recess I6 in which the stub end Il of an extended handle stud I8 is secured by a suitable setscrew I9.

A tubular roller shell 2| is provided, surrounding and concentric with the motor 3, in which is formed a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertures which receive the stems 22 of circular soft rubber vacuum cups 23 each being formed with the usual concavity 24. Each of the stems 22 projects slightly beyond the inner periphery of the :shell 2l and is provided with a transverse aperture through which a retainer rod 2t, engaging the inner periphery of the shell, passes. This retainer rod, as will be clearly understood upon reference to the drawing, locks the vacuum cups 23, in each longitudinal row thereoto the shell 2I, and it Will be seen that the vacuum cups, either singly or as a group, may be quickly demounted from or remounted on the shell by merely withdrawing and replacing the retainer rods. Each longitudinal row of vacuum cups is displaced axially of the shell relative to its neighboring row so as to uniformly disperse the vacuum cups over* the peripheral area of the shell.

Means is provided journaling the shell 2l for r-otation about the axis of the motor 3 and means' is also provided for connecting the shell to be rotatably driven by the motor. Closing the respective ends of the shell are end plates 2l each being secured in place by screws 28 and each being provided with centrallapertures in which are journaled, respectively, the handle stud I8, and the handle tube lll. Handles 29 and 3l, each of which is constructed of molded plastic material such as Celluloid or Bakelite, are provided, the former of which is telescoped over the handle tube I4 and is heldin place thereon by a screw 32, v

and the latter of which is centrally bored to telescope over the handle stud i8 and is secured thereon by a screw 33. abuts against the face of one end plate 2l so as to confine the latter, although permitting rotation thereof on the handle tube, between the end of the handle 29 and the end of the hub l2. The handle 3l abuts, at one end thereof, against the surface of the other end plate 2l and a spacer sleeve 3@ placed on the stud i8 abuts, at its re-y spective ends, against the inner face of the latter end plate 2l and the surface ci the reduction gear housing 6. The roller shell 2l is thus rotatably journaled axially concentric with the motor One end of the handle 2l)` pinion 39 to impart rotary motion to the roller shell 2 I.

Means is provided for conducting current to the motor 3 and, further, means is provided for controlling said ow of current. A power cable 4I, whose remote end, not shown, is provided with a suitable plug for permitting -connection of the cable to an outlet of electric current, passes through an aperture 42 formed in the end of the handle 29 and enters the outer end of the handle tube I4. One conductor 43 of the cable continues unbroken through the handle tube and is led through a grommet 44 into the motor wherein it is attached to one `of the input terminals of the latter. The other conductor 46 is soldered to the terminal lug l4'I of a flexible metal switch blade 48 which is secured adjacent one end, by a screw 49 to an insulating block 5I alsov held in place within the handle tube I4 by the screw 32. An opening 52 formed in the handle tube I4, intermediate its ends, is provided for clearing the switch blade 48. A contact plate 53 is secured by a screw 54 to the other end of the insulating block 5I and has a terminal lug 56 to which a conductor 5I is connected; the other end of the latter conductor being connected to a second current input terminal within the motor 3. In the handle 29, intermediate the ends thereof and overlying the switch blade 48, is an aperture 58 in which is slidably mounted a push button 59 having at its lower end a collar BI resting in a complementary recess formed at the lower end of the aperture 58 soas to prevent passage of the push button upwardly out of the aperture. The bottom of the push button rests on the switch blade 48 intermediate the ends ofthe latter and it will be seen that, when the push button is manually depressed, the end of the switch blade will be moved downwardly into contact with the contact .-plate 53 thereby completing the electric circuit to the motor 3. The natural spring in the switch arm will of course return it to its normal elevated position, when pressure on the push button is released, so that the motor circuit will be then broken.

The massage roller of my invention is used in 'the same manner as a rolling pin in that the operatcr grasps the handles 29 and 3l in his respective hands and passes the shell 2I carrying the vacuum cups 23 over the surface of the body of the person under treatment. The vertical pressure applied by the operator will compress the vacuum cups axially thereby creating within the cups, which are at the moment in contact with the body, a suction which will flex and kned the esh much in the same manner as the action obtained by hand massage. Rollers of the class described have been used heretofore but these required that the force being exerted by the operator be divided between movement of the roller over the body surface and pressure of the roller against the body surface. This not only hastened fatigue in the operator but Aalso prevented the operator from obtaining the desired apportionment of pressures with the result that the pressure of the roller against the surface of the body fluctuated and was usually in excess of the degree desired. By providing an improved motor drive for the roller of my invention, I have eliminated the necessity for the operator expending some of the applied pressure to move the roller over the surface of the body, thereby enabling him to center his effort in pressing the roller against the patients body. This, it will be obvious, renders the roller more easily operated, lessens fatigue in the operator, and allows the latter to obtain more uniform and desirable degrees of pressure of the roller against the body.

In previously used rollers the vacuum cups 23 could not be readily removed for replacement or cleaning, which meant that, should one or more vacuum cups become broken or detached, they were very difiicult to replace, and, during a cleaning operation, the vacuum cups had to be left mounted on the roller which caused the operation to be unduly extended and rendered possible that the vacuum cups were not thoroughly cleaned. In the roller of my invention the vacuum cups may be readily detached from the roller shell by merely withdrawing the retainer rods 2G. This renders replacement of the vacuum cups .a relatively simple task and allows all of the vacuum cups to be removed for simultaneous cleaning by immersion in a suitable cleaning bath.

Having thus described my invention in detail, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the class described comprising a drive mechanism unit having a, rotatable drive shaft, a pair of co-axial handle studs secured to and extending, respectively, from opposite ends of said drive mechanism unit, a roller shell enclosing said drive mechanism unit and journaled on said handle studs, means connecting said drive shaft and said roller shell for rotation together, a plurality of resilient massage members arranged in circumferentially spaced groups on said roller shell, said massage members in each group thereof having alined fastener elements, and separate fastener members, one for each group of massage members, releasably engaged with the alined fastener members thereof and with the shell, for mounting said massage members on said shell.

2. A device of the class described comprising a motor, a housing, containing a reduction gear, mounted on and connected to be driven by said motor, said reduction gear including a rotatable drive shaft, a pair of handle studs mounted, respectively, on the motor and the reduction gear housing and extending in opposite directions in co-axial alinement with the axis of said motor, a roller` shell, enclosing said motor and reduction gear housing, having therein a plurality of dispersed apertures, end plates connected to the opposite ends of said roller shell and journaled on said handle studs, a ring gear carried by and positioned within said roller sleeve, a pinion secured to said drive shaft and in mesh with said ring gear, iiexible vacuum cups having stems thereon entering said roller shell apertures and extending within the roller shell, and means common to groups of said vacuum cups and engaging the stems thereof for securing said vacuum cups to the roller shell.

3. A device of the class described comprising a motor, a housing, containing a reduction gear, mounted on and connected to be driven by said motor, said reduction gear including a rotatable drive shaft, a pair of .handle studs mounted, respectively, on the motor and the reduction gear housing and extending in opposite directions in co-axial alinement with the axis of said motor, a roller shell, enclosing said motor and reduction gear housing, having therein a plurality of dispersed apertures, end plates connected to the opposite ends of said roller shell and `iournaled on said handle studs, a ring gear carried by and positioned within said roller sleeve, a pinion secured to said drive shaft and in mesh with said ring gear, flexible vacuum cups having stems thereon entering said roller shell apertures and extending within the roller shell, each of said stems having a transverse aperture extending therethrough, and rods passing through the stem apertures of separate groups of said vacuum cups.

el. A device of the class described comprising a motor, a housing, containing a speed reduction gear, mounted on one end of said motor, said reduction gear being connected to be driven by said motor and having a drive shaft axially offset with respect to the axis of the motor, a handle stud secured to and extending from said housing in co-axial relation to the axis of the motor, a handle tube secured to and extending from the other end of said motor and in co-axial relation with said motor, a roller shell concentric with and enclosing said motor and said reduction gear housing, said roller shell havingr a plurality of apertures therein arranged in longitudinally alined groups, end plates connected to the opposite ends of said roller shell and journaled, respectively, on said handle stud and said handle tube, tubular handles secured on said handle stud and tube in concentric relation therewith and engaging an end plate for limiting relative axial displacement between said roller shell and said motor and reduction gear housing, a ring gear concentric with and secured within said roller shell, a pinion secured to said drive shaft and meshing with said ring gear, a'plurality of concave resilient vacuum cups each having thereon a stem entering an aperture of the roller shell, each of said vacuum cup stems having an aperture extending transversely therethrough, rods within said roller shell and passing through the stern apertures of longitudinally alined groups of said vacuum cups, a pair of current conductors connected to said motor and passing through said handle tube, a switch within said handle tube connected in one .of said conductors, and a push button operatively connected with said switch and extending exteriorly of said handle carried by said handle tube.

PARK AVERY. 

